JOE GIORDANI

Mercedes-Benz of Wappingers Falls responded

Mercedes-Benz of Wappingers Falls has provided years of honest and transparent service as is evident with the loyal customers from the tri-state area that have been servicing with us for many, many years and continue to do so. It’s unfortunate that you are experiencing the many issues with your vehicle as you are, however, your statements could not be any further from the truth. The reality is that we tried to help and consul you as best as possible. For this reason, we feel it necessary to outline the circumstances as they occurred: When your vehicle was dropped off at night for your appointment, the vehicle was scheduled for a check engine light diagnosis and for the heater fan not operating correctly. At no time did you mention an additional warning message on the dash indicating there were “Zero Starts Remaining “, which usually is an indication of a malfunction in the DEF system. When the service advisor wrote the repair order, he contacted you regarding the diagnostic charges that would be incurred with your vehicle. You agreed to the diagnostic charges, and we proceeded to diagnose your vehicle. It was found during the diagnoses of your vehicle that the repairs for the check engine light may be covered under an emission warranty provided by Freightliner and would need to be performed by an authorized Freightliner repair facility for the cost of the repair to be covered. Since your vehicle is a Freightliner and we are not an authorized Freightliner Dealer or Service facility, we are not permitted to perform warranty repairs on Freightliner vehicles. You were advised of this, and as a goodwill gesture we removed 1 hour of diagnostic time from the bill for which had already been authorized by you. You were also advised that since there were “no starts remaining” due to the malfunction with the DEF system you were given the option of either paying for a temporary reprogramming of the software, which would allow several more starts, or to have the vehicle towed to a Freightliner facility. You were provided with an estimate for the reprogramming as well an estimate to repair the heater fan. You declined the heater fan repair, however authorized the reprogramming of the DEF module for the additional starts. The final charges included 2 hours of diagnosis of which 1 hour was removed leaving only one hour of diagnosis and the reprogramming charge. These were the only two items you were charged for and were clearly explained prior to the start of any work, for which you authorized. At no time did we provide you with any misinformation, lie, or overcharge for the work performed. On the contrary we made you aware that the costly repairs that your vehicle may require may be offset by an Emissions Warranty through Freightliner. We truly empathize with your circumstance and wish you well.